U.S. patent application number 16/162595 was filed with the patent office on 2019-04-25 for electronic device supporting muli-band wireless communications and method of controlling same.
The applicant listed for this patent is SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Bokun CHOI, Minwhoa HONG, Yongseok JANG, Doosuk KANG, Sunkee LEE, Taehun LIM, Hyunkee MIN.
Application Number | 20190123938 16/162595 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 66170229 |
Filed Date | 2019-04-25 |
View All Diagrams
United States Patent
Application |
20190123938 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MIN; Hyunkee ; et
al. |
April 25, 2019 |
ELECTRONIC DEVICE SUPPORTING MULI-BAND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND
METHOD OF CONTROLLING SAME
Abstract
Disclosed is an electronic device, including a housing, a first
communication circuit disposed in the housing and configured to
support omnidirectional wireless communication, a second
communication circuit disposed in the housing and configured to
support directional wireless communication using beamforming, a
processor disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the
first communication circuit and the second communication circuit,
and a memory disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the
processor. The processor may be configured to receive at least one
first radio signal through a communication channel from an external
device capable of supporting the omnidirectional wireless
communication and the directional wireless communication using the
first communication circuit, determine a state of the communication
channel based on at least part of the at least one first radio
signal, and activate the second communication circuit based on at
least part of the determined state of the communication channel
wherein the second communication circuit is configured to receive a
second radio signal from the external device.
Inventors: |
MIN; Hyunkee; (Sangju-si,
KR) ; JANG; Yongseok; (Suwon-si, KR) ; LIM;
Taehun; (Gwacheon-si, KR) ; HONG; Minwhoa;
(Suwon-si, KR) ; LEE; Sunkee; (Seongnam-si,
KR) ; KANG; Doosuk; (Suwon-si, KR) ; CHOI;
Bokun; (Seoul, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
66170229 |
Appl. No.: |
16/162595 |
Filed: |
October 17, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 7/0617 20130101;
H04B 1/7163 20130101; H04B 7/0408 20130101; H04L 25/022 20130101;
H04L 25/03292 20130101; H04L 25/0212 20130101; H04L 25/025
20130101; H04L 25/0256 20130101; H04B 17/318 20150115 |
International
Class: |
H04L 25/02 20060101
H04L025/02; H04L 25/03 20060101 H04L025/03; H04B 1/7163 20060101
H04B001/7163; H04B 17/318 20060101 H04B017/318; H04B 7/06 20060101
H04B007/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 19, 2017 |
KR |
10-2017-0135718 |
Claims
1. An electronic device, comprising: a housing; a first
communication circuit disposed in the housing and configured to
support omnidirectional wireless communication; a second
communication circuit disposed in the housing and configured to
support directional wireless communication using beamforming; a
processor disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the
first communication circuit and the second communication circuit;
and a memory disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the
processor, wherein the processor is configured to: receive at least
one first radio signal through a communication channel from an
external device capable of supporting the omnidirectional wireless
communication and the directional wireless communication using the
first communication circuit, determine a state of the communication
channel based on at least part of the at least one first radio
signal, and activate the second communication circuit based on at
least part of the determined state of the communication channel
wherein the second communication circuit is configured to receive a
second radio signal from the external device.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first
communication circuit is configured to support a first carrier
frequency corresponding to at least one of a 2.4 GHz band and a 5.0
GHz band.
3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the second
communication circuit is configured to support a second carrier
frequency corresponding to a 60 GHz band.
4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first
communication circuit is configured to support cellular
communication as at least part of the omnidirectional wireless
communication.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to determine whether the electronic device and the
external device are in a line of sight (LoS) as at least part of
the determined state.
6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to determine the state of the communication channel if
received signal strength indication (RSSI) corresponding to the at
least one first radio signal satisfies a given condition.
7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the processor is
configured to deactivate the second communication circuit if the
RSSI does not satisfy the given condition.
8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to: determine a skewness and/or a kurtosis based on at
least part of a channel frequency response (CFR) and/or a channel
impulse response (CIR) corresponding to the at least one first
radio signal, and activate the second communication circuit if the
skewness and/or kurtosis satisfies a given condition.
9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the processor is
configured to: receive a radio signal transmitted at a first point
of time and a radio signal transmitted at a second point of time
from the external device as at least part of the at least one first
radio signal, and determine a corresponding one of the skewness and
kurtosis based on at least part of the radio signal transmitted at
the first point of time and the radio signal transmitted at the
second point of time.
10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the first radio
signal includes a preamble comprising a plurality of training
symbols, and the processor is configured to identify the determined
state using at least one of the plurality of training symbols.
11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to: receive the second radio signal from the external
device using the second communication circuit while the second
communication circuit is activated, determine a connection state
with the external device based on the second radio signal, and
deactivate the second communication circuit based on the determined
connection state.
12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to receive the at least one first radio signal while the
second communication circuit is deactivated.
13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to determine a state of the first radio signal based on
at least one of characteristics of transmitted content,
characteristics of the external device and a moving state of the
electronic device.
14. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first
communication circuit and the second communication circuit are
disposed in the same chip.
15. A method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving
at least one first radio signal through a communication channel
from an external device capable of supporting omnidirectional
wireless communication and directional wireless communication using
a first communication circuit configured to support the
omnidirectional wireless communication; determining a state of the
communication channel based on at least part of the at least one
first radio signal; and activating a second communication circuit
configured to support the directional wireless communication based
on at least part of the determined state wherein the second
communication circuit receives a second radio signal from the
external device.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein: the first communication
circuit is configured to support a first carrier frequency
corresponding to at least one of a 2.4 GHz band and a 5.0 GHz band,
and the second communication circuit is configured to support a
second carrier frequency corresponding to a 60 GHz band.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein determining a state of the
communication channel comprises determining whether the electronic
device and the external device are in a line of sight (LoS).
18. The method of claim 15, wherein activating a second
communication circuit comprises: determining a skewness and/or a
kurtosis based on at least part of a channel frequency response
(CFR) and/or a channel impulse response (CIR) corresponding to the
first radio signal; and determining whether the skewness and/or
kurtosis satisfies a given condition.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein: the at least one first radio
signal comprises a radio signal transmitted at a first point of
time and a radio signal transmitted at a second point of time by
the external device, and a corresponding one of the skewness and
the kurtosis is determined based on at least part of the radio
signal transmitted at the first point of time and the radio signal
transmitted at the second point of time.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having
recorded thereon a program which, when executed by a processor
cause an electronic device to perform operations, wherein the
operations comprise: receiving at least one first radio signal
through a communication channel from an external device capable of
supporting omnidirectional wireless communication and directional
wireless communication using a first communication circuit
configured to support the omnidirectional wireless communication,
determine a state of the communication channel based on at least
part of the at least one first radio signal, and activating a
second communication circuit configured to support the directional
wireless communication based on at least part of the determined
state wherein the second communication circuit receives a second
radio signal from the external device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0135718,
filed on Oct. 19, 2017, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office,
the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The disclosure relates to an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication and a method of controlling
same.
BACKGROUND
[0003] As various electronic devices, such as a smart phone, a
tablet PC, a portable multimedia player (PMP), a personal digital
assistant (PDA), a laptop personal computer (PC) and a wearable
device, come into use, various wireless communication technologies
supporting communication between the electronic devices are being
developed.
[0004] In such wireless communication technologies, an
implementation in a mmWave band (e.g., 28 GHz or 60 GHz band) is
taken into consideration in order to satisfy the demand for
increasing wireless data traffic and achieve a high data transfer
rate.
[0005] Communication in the mmWave band has an advantage in that it
can support a fast transmission speed, but may have a great
propagation path loss because signal attenuation becomes severe and
transparency becomes weak due to reduced intensity of a radio wave
according to the distance as the frequency becomes high.
[0006] An electronic device supporting wireless communication in
the mmWave band may support directional wireless communication
based on the beamforming technology.
[0007] If an obstacle is present between devices performing
wireless communication although they support directional wireless
communication, a mmWave radio signal may not transmit the
obstacle.
[0008] Accordingly, in such wireless communication in the mmWave
band, it may be necessary to identify whether a communication
environment between devices is a line of sight (LoS)
environment.
SUMMARY
[0009] An electronic device supporting multi-band wireless
communication according to various embodiments of the present
disclosure may determine whether the electronic device and an
external device to communicate with are in an LoS environment using
an omnidirectional wireless communication method, and may determine
whether to activate directional wireless communication.
[0010] An electronic device according to various embodiments of the
present disclosure may include a housing, a first communication
circuit disposed in the housing and configured to support
omnidirectional wireless communication, a second communication
circuit disposed in the housing and configured to support
directional wireless communication using beamforming, a processor
disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the first
communication circuit and the second communication circuit, and a
memory disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the
processor. The processor may be configured to: receive at least one
first radio signal through a communication channel from an external
device capable of supporting the omnidirectional wireless
communication and the directional wireless communication using the
first communication circuit, determine a state of the communication
channel based on at least part of the at least one first radio
signal, and activate the second communication circuit based on at
least part of the determined state of the communication channel
wherein the second communication circuit is configured to receive a
second radio signal from the external device.
[0011] A method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication according to various embodiments
of the present disclosure may include receiving at least one first
radio signal through a communication channel from an external
device capable of supporting omnidirectional wireless communication
and directional wireless communication using a first communication
circuit configured to support the omnidirectional wireless
communication, determining a state of the communication channel
based on at least part of the at least one first radio signal, and
activating a second communication circuit configured to support the
directional wireless communication based on at least part of the
determined state wherein the second communication circuit is
configured to receive a second radio signal from the external
device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of
certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent
from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device
in a network environment according to various embodiments;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device
according to various embodiments;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining
the state of a communication channel according to various
embodiments;
[0017] FIG. 5 is graph illustrating estimated state information of
a channel in an LoS environment;
[0018] FIG. 6 a graph illustrating an example in which the state
information of the channel illustrated in FIG. 5 has been converted
into time-axis data;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a management frame
according to various embodiments;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating part of an information
field including information about multiple bands according to
various embodiments;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preamble
including short training symbols and long training symbols
according to various embodiments;
[0023] FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example in which
channel impulse responses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS
environment are expressed in a PDF form;
[0024] FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example in which
skewnesses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS environment are
expressed in a PDF form;
[0025] FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example in which
channel impulse responses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS
environment are expressed in a PDF form;
[0026] FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating an example in which
kurtoses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS environment are
expressed in a PDF form;
[0027] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an
electronic device is controlled according to various
embodiments;
[0028] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an
electronic device is controlled according to various
embodiments;
[0029] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments;
[0030] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments;
[0031] FIGS. 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D and 17E are diagrams illustrating a
movement of a window according to various embodiments; and
[0032] FIGS. 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D are diagrams illustrating user
interfaces according to various embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device
101 in a network environment 100 according to various embodiments.
Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device 101 in the network
environment 100 may communicate with an electronic device 102 via a
first network 198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication
network), or an electronic device 104 or a server 108 via a second
network 199 (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network).
According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may
communicate with the electronic device 104 via the server 108.
According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may include a
processor 120, memory 130, an input device 150, a sound output
device 155, a display device 160, an audio module 170, a sensor
module 176, an interface 177, a haptic module 179, a camera module
180, a power management module 188, a battery 189, a communication
module 190, a subscriber identification module (SIM) 196, or an
antenna module 197. In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., the
display device 160 or the camera module 180) of the components may
be omitted from the electronic device 101, or one or more other
components may be added in the electronic device 101. In some
embodiments, some of the components may be implemented as single
integrated circuitry. For example, the sensor module 176 (e.g., a
fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or an illuminance sensor) may
be implemented as embedded in the display device 160 (e.g., a
display).
[0034] The processor 120 may execute, for example, software (e.g.,
a program 140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a
hardware or software component) of the electronic device 101
coupled with the processor 120, and may perform various data
processing or computation. According to an example embodiment, as
at least part of the data processing or computation, the processor
120 may load a command or data received from another component
(e.g., the sensor module 176 or the communication module 190) in
volatile memory 132, process the command or the data stored in the
volatile memory 132, and store resulting data in non-volatile
memory 134. According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may
include a main processor 121 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)
or an application processor (AP)), and an auxiliary processor 123
(e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor
(ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP))
that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with, the
main processor 121. Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary
processor 123 may be adapted to consume less power than the main
processor 121, or to be specific to a specified function. The
auxiliary processor 123 may be implemented as separate from, or as
part of the main processor 121.
[0035] The auxiliary processor 123 may control at least some of
functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the
display device 160, the sensor module 176, or the communication
module 190) among the components of the electronic device 101,
instead of the main processor 121 while the main processor 121 is
in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main
processor 121 while the main processor 121 is in an active state
(e.g., executing an application). According to an embodiment, the
auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., an image signal processor or a
communication processor) may be implemented as part of another
component (e.g., the camera module 180 or the communication module
190) functionally related to the auxiliary processor 123.
[0036] The memory 130 may store various data used by at least one
component (e.g., the processor 120 or the sensor module 176) of the
electronic device 101. The various data may include, for example,
software (e.g., the program 140) and input data or output data for
a command related thereto. The memory 130 may include the volatile
memory 132 or the non-volatile memory 134.
[0037] The program 140 may be stored in the memory 130 as software,
and may include, for example, an operating system (OS) 142,
middleware 144, or an application 146.
[0038] The input device 150 may receive a command or data to be
used by other component (e.g., the processor 120) of the electronic
device 101, from the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic
device 101. The input device 150 may include, for example, a
microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus
pen).
[0039] The sound output device 155 may output sound signals to the
outside of the electronic device 101. The sound output device 155
may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may
be used for general purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing
record, and the receiver may be used for an incoming calls.
According to an embodiment, the receiver may be implemented as
separate from, or as part of the speaker.
[0040] The display device 160 may visually provide information to
the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The
display device 160 may include, for example, a display, a hologram
device, or a projector and control circuitry to control a
corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector.
According to an embodiment, the display device 160 may include
touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch, or sensor circuitry
(e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure the intensity of force
incurred by the touch.
[0041] The audio module 170 may convert a sound into an electrical
signal and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module
170 may obtain the sound via the input device 150, or output the
sound via the sound output device 155 or a headphone of an external
electronic device (e.g., an electronic device 102) directly (e.g.,
wiredly) or wirelessly coupled with the electronic device 101.
[0042] The sensor module 176 may detect an operational state (e.g.,
power or temperature) of the electronic device 101 or an
environmental state (e.g., a state of a user) external to the
electronic device 101, and then generate an electrical signal or
data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an
embodiment, the sensor module 176 may include, for example, a
gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a
magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity
sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric
sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance
sensor.
[0043] The interface 177 may support one or more specified
protocols to be used for the electronic device 101 to be coupled
with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device
102) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly. According to an
embodiment, the interface 177 may include, for example, a high
definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus
(USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio
interface.
[0044] A connecting terminal 178 may include a connector via which
the electronic device 101 may be physically connected with the
external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102).
According to an embodiment, the connecting terminal 178 may
include, for example, a HDMI connector, a USB connector, a SD card
connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).
[0045] The haptic module 179 may convert an electrical signal into
a mechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or
electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user via his
tactile sensation or kinesthetic sensation. According to an
embodiment, the haptic module 179 may include, for example, a
motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator.
[0046] The camera module 180 may capture a still image or moving
images. According to an embodiment, the camera module 180 may
include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors,
or flashes.
[0047] The power management module 188 may manage power supplied to
the electronic device 101. According to an example embodiment, the
power management module 188 may be implemented as at least part of,
for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).
[0048] The battery 189 may supply power to at least one component
of the electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the
battery 189 may include, for example, a primary cell which is not
rechargeable, a secondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel
cell.
[0049] The communication module 190 may support establishing a
direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless
communication channel between the electronic device 101 and the
external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102, the
electronic device 104, or the server 108) and performing
communication via the established communication channel. The
communication module 190 may include one or more communication
processors that are operable independently from the processor 120
(e.g., the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g.,
wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an
embodiment, the communication module 190 may include a wireless
communication module 192 (e.g., a cellular communication module, a
short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation
satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired
communication module 194 (e.g., a local area network (LAN)
communication module or a power line communication (PLC) module). A
corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate
with the external electronic device via the first network 198
(e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth.TM.,
wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association
(IrDA)) or the second network 199 (e.g., a long-range communication
network, such as a cellular network, the Internet, or a computer
network (e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types
of communication modules may be implemented as a single component
(e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multi components
(e.g., multi chips) separate from each other.
[0050] The wireless communication module 192 according to example
embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least two
communication circuits. The first communication circuit may be a
legacy communication circuit supporting omnidirectional wireless
communication. Furthermore, the second communication circuit may be
a mmWave communication circuit supporting directional wireless
communication.
[0051] The first communication circuit may include at least one of
a cellular module, a Wi-Fi module, a Bluetooth module, a GNSS
module, an NFC module and an RF module, for example.
[0052] The second communication circuit may include a communication
module performing wireless communication using a mmWave band (e.g.,
20-300 GHz band), for example. For example, the second
communication circuit may include a Wi-Fi module supporting
wireless communication using the IEEE 802.11ad standard.
[0053] The wireless communication module 192 may identify and
authenticate the electronic device 101 in a communication network,
such as the first network 198 or the second network 199, using
subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber
identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module
196.
[0054] The antenna module 197 may transmit or receive a signal or
power to or from the outside (e.g., the external electronic device)
of the electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the
antenna module 197 may include an antenna including a radiating
element composed of a conductive material or a conductive pattern
formed in or on a substrate (e.g., PCB). According to an
embodiment, the antenna module 197 may include a plurality of
antennas. In such a case, at least one antenna appropriate for a
communication scheme used in the communication network, such as the
first network 198 or the second network 199, may be selected, for
example, by the communication module 190 (e.g., the wireless
communication module 192) from the plurality of antennas. The
signal or the power may then be transmitted or received between the
communication module 190 and the external electronic device via the
selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, another
component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other
than the radiating element may be additionally formed as part of
the antenna module 197.
[0055] At least some of the above-described components may be
coupled mutually and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data)
therebetween via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a
bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO), serial peripheral
interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface
(MIPI)).
[0056] According to an embodiment, commands or data may be
transmitted or received between the electronic device 101 and the
external electronic device 104 via the server 108 coupled with the
second network 199. Each of the electronic devices 102 and 104 may
be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from the
electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, all or some of
operations to be executed at the electronic device 101 may be
executed at one or more of the external electronic devices 102,
104, or 108. For example, if the electronic device 101 should
perform a function or a service automatically, or in response to a
request from a user or another device, the electronic device 101,
instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the
service, may request the one or more external electronic devices to
perform at least part of the function or the service. The one or
more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform
the at least part of the function or the service requested, or an
additional function or an additional service related to the
request, and transfer an outcome of the performing to the
electronic device 101. The electronic device 101 may provide the
outcome, with or without further processing of the outcome, as at
least part of a reply to the request. To that end, a cloud
computing, distributed computing, or client-server computing
technology may be used, for example.
[0057] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device
according to various embodiments.
[0058] The electronic device 200 (e.g., the electronic device 101
of FIG. 1) may include a processor (e.g., including processing
circuitry) 210 (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1), a wireless
communication module (e.g., including wireless communication
circuitry) 220 (e.g., the wireless communication module 192 of FIG.
1), memory 230 (e.g., the memory 130 of FIG. 1) and a user
interface 240. In an example embodiment, the electronic device 200
may omit at least one of the elements or may additionally include a
different element.
[0059] The processor 210 (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1) may
include various processing circuitry, such as, for example, and
without limitation, one or more of a central processing unit, an
application processor, a communication processor (CP) or the like.
The processor may execute operation or data processing regarding
control and/or communication of at least one different element of
the electronic device 200, for example.
[0060] The processor 210 may include a channel estimation unit
(e.g., including processing circuitry and/or program elements) 211
and a channel characteristic analysis unit (e.g., including
processing circuitry and/or program elements) 212, for example. In
an embodiment, the channel estimation unit 211 and the channel
characteristic analysis unit 212 may be configured as separate
elements distinct from the processor 210.
[0061] The channel estimation unit 211 may estimate a channel based
on a signal obtained from an external device, for example. The
channel estimation may be used for channel equalization for
reception performance improvement. The channel may be estimated
based on a channel frequency response (CFR) and/or a channel
impulse response (CIR). The CFR may be understood as being a value
of channel state information indicated in a frequency domain. The
CIR may be understood as being a value of channel state information
indicated in a time domain. For example, the channel estimation
unit 211 may estimate the CFR through a least square (LS)-based
channel estimation method using a pilot of orthogonal frequency
division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or a minimum mean squares
error (MMSE)-based channel estimation method using the correlation
of a channel or may estimate the CIR using a discrete Fourier
transform (DFT)-based channel estimation method, a discrete cosine
transform (DCT)-based channel estimation method or a time domain
processing (TDP)-based channel estimation method.
[0062] The channel characteristic analysis unit 212 may analyze the
statistical characteristics of a channel based on an estimated
channel, for example. For example, multiple data packets exchanged
in a connected channel or a non-connected channel may be received,
and the statistical characteristics of the channel may be indicated
in a probability density function (PDF) form.
[0063] The wireless communication module 220 (e.g., the wireless
communication module 192 of FIG. 1) may include a first
communication circuit 221 and a second communication circuit 222.
According to various embodiments, at least some elements forming
the wireless communication module 220, such as an antenna, may be
positioned within a housing or may be formed in a housing itself
(e.g., on a surface of the inside of the housing).
[0064] According to various embodiments, the first communication
circuit 221 supporting omnidirectional wireless communication may
include, for example, and without limitation, a legacy
communication module. The legacy communication module may include
at least one of a legacy cellular module, a legacy Wi-Fi module, a
legacy Bluetooth module, a legacy GNSS module, a legacy NFC module
and an RF module, for example.
[0065] The legacy cellular module may include, for example, and
without limitation, some or all of cellular modules supporting a
cellular communication system before an enhanced 5G communication
system or a pre-5G communication system, for example, is supported.
As a representative non-limiting example, the legacy cellular
module may include a cellular module supporting wireless
communication using at least one of LTE, LTE-advance (A), code
division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), a universal
mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a wireless broadband
(WiBro) and global system for mobile communications (GSM).
[0066] According to various embodiments, the second communication
circuit 222 supporting directional wireless communication may
include a communication module performing wireless communication
using, for example, and without limitation, a mmWave band (e.g.,
20-300 GHz band). For example, the second communication circuit 222
may include a Wi-Fi module supporting wireless communication using
the IEEE 802.11ad standard.
[0067] The memory 230 (e.g., the memory 130 of FIG. 1) may store
instructions or data related to at least one different element of
the electronic device 200, for example. For example, the memory
230, may store instructions that, when executed by the processor
210 cause the electronic device 200 to receive at least one first
radio signal through a communication channel from an external
device capable of supporting omnidirectional wireless communication
and directional wireless communication using the first
communication circuit configured to support omnidirectional
wireless communication, to determine the state of the communication
channel based on at least part of the at least one first radio
signal and to activate the second communication circuit configured
to support the directional wireless communication based on at least
part of the determined state so that the second communication
circuit receives a second radio signal from the external
device.
[0068] The user interface 240 may include at least one of a touch
screen display, a microphone and a speaker, for example.
[0069] The electronic device 200 according to various embodiments
includes a housing, the first communication circuit 221 disposed in
the housing and configured to support omnidirectional wireless
communication, the second communication circuit 222 disposed in the
housing and configured to support directional wireless
communication using beamforming, the processor 210 disposed in the
housing and operatively coupled to the first communication circuit
221 and the second communication circuit 222, and the memory 230
disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to the processor
210. The processor 210 may be configured to receive at least one
first radio signal through a communication channel from an external
device capable of supporting the omnidirectional wireless
communication and directional wireless communication using the
first communication circuit, to determine the state of the
communication channel based on at least part of the at least one
first radio signal and to activate the second communication circuit
so that it receives a second radio signal from the external device
based on at least part of the determined state of the communication
channel.
[0070] The first communication circuit 221 of the electronic device
200 according to various embodiments may be configured to support a
first carrier frequency corresponding to a 2.4 GHz band or 5.0 GHz
band.
[0071] The second communication circuit 222 of the electronic
device 200 according to various embodiments may be configured to
support a second carrier frequency corresponding to a 60 GHz
band.
[0072] The first communication circuit 221 of the electronic device
200 according to various embodiments may be configured to support
cellular communication, that is, at least part of the
omnidirectional wireless communication.
[0073] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to determine whether the
electronic device and the external device are in a line of sight
(LoS) as part of the determined state.
[0074] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to perform an operation of
determining the state of the communication channel if received
signal strength indication (RSSI) corresponding to the at least one
first radio signal satisfies a given condition.
[0075] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to deactivate the second
communication circuit 222 if the RSSI does not satisfy the given
condition.
[0076] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to determine a skewness or
kurtosis based on at least part of a CFR or CIR corresponding to
the at least one first radio signal and to perform the activating
operation if the skewness or kurtosis satisfies a given
condition.
[0077] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to receive a radio signal
transmitted at a first point of time and a radio signal transmitted
at a second point of time as at least part of the at least one
first radio signal from the external device and to identify a
corresponding one of the skewness and kurtosis based on at least
part of the radio signal transmitted at the first point of time and
the radio signal transmitted at the second point of time.
[0078] The first radio signal of the electronic device 200
according to various embodiments includes a preamble including a
plurality of training symbols. The processor 210 may be configured
to identify the determined state using at least some of the
plurality of training symbols.
[0079] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to receive the second radio
signal from the external device using the second communication
circuit 222 while the second communication circuit 222 is
activated, to determine a connection state with the external device
based on the second radio signal and to deactivate the second
communication circuit 222 based on the identified connection
state.
[0080] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to perform the operation of
receiving the at least one first radio signal while the second
communication circuit 222 is deactivated.
[0081] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 according to
various embodiments may be configured to determine the state of the
first radio signal based on at least one of the characteristics of
transmitted content, the characteristics of the external device and
the moving state of the electronic device.
[0082] The first communication circuit 221 and second communication
circuit 222 of the electronic device 200 according to various
embodiments may be configured to be included in the same chip.
[0083] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments.
[0084] Referring to FIG. 3, at operation 310, the processor 210
(e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1) of the electronic device 200
(e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1) may receive at least
one first radio signal through a communication channel from an
external device (e.g., the electronic device 102, electronic device
104 or server 108 of FIG. 1) using the first communication circuit
221 configured to support omnidirectional wireless
communication.
[0085] According to various embodiments, the first communication
circuit 221 supporting omnidirectional wireless communication may
include, for example, and without limitation, a legacy
communication module. The legacy communication module may include
at least one of a legacy cellular module, a legacy Wi-Fi module, a
Bluetooth module, a GNSS module, an NFC module and an RF module,
for example.
[0086] The legacy cellular module may include, for example, and
without limitation, some or all of cellular modules supporting a
cellular communication system before an enhanced 5G communication
system or a pre-5G communication system, for example, is supported.
As a representative example, the legacy cellular module may include
a cellular module supporting wireless communication using at least
one of LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, WCDMA, a UMTS, WiBro and GSM.
[0087] The legacy Wi-Fi module may include a Wi-Fi module
supporting wireless communication using at least one standard of
IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac, for
example. For example, the legacy Wi-Fi module may refer, for
example, to a Wi-Fi module having a carrier frequency in a 2.4 GHz
band or 5.0 GHz band.
[0088] According to various embodiments, the external device may
include a legacy communication module having the same standard as
the electronic device 200. For example, the first communication
circuit of the electronic device 200 includes a Wi-Fi module having
a carrier frequency in the 2.4 GHz band or 5.0 GHz band, the
external device may also include a Wi-Fi module having a carrier
frequency in the 2.4 GHz band or 5.0 GHz band.
[0089] At operation 320, the processor 210 of the electronic device
200 may determine the state of a communication channel based on at
least part of the at least one first radio signal. The
communication channel through which the at least one first radio
signal is exchanged may, for example, and without limitation, be a
time-unvarying channel whose channel characteristic does not vary
during the cycle of a symbol, for example. In this case, even in
the case of such a time-unvarying channel, when a relative movement
between devices that transmit and receive first radio signals
occurs, inter-channel interference (ICI) occurs, so communication
performance may be deteriorated. Accordingly, many methods of
estimating and compensating such ICI are present.
[0090] ICI may include a change of a multi-path channel over time.
For example, the state of a communication channel in addition to
ICI may be identified by estimating an impulse response in a
sampling cycle unit. For example, if a method including a given
symbol in a given frame is used, ICI can be estimated and the state
of a communication channel can also be identified. Accordingly, a
method of estimating the state of a communication channel according
to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be based on
various methods of estimating ICI.
[0091] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may estimate a CFR through an LS-based channel estimation method
using a pilot of an OFDM symbol or an MMSE-based channel estimation
method using the correlation of a channel, and may determine the
state of a communication channel.
[0092] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may estimate a CIR using a DFT-based channel estimation method, a
DCT-based channel estimation method or a TDP-based channel
estimation method, and may determine the state of a communication
channel.
[0093] When the state of the communication channel is identified,
at operation 330, the processor 210 of the electronic device 200
may activate the second communication circuit 222 configured to
support directional wireless communication so that it receives a
second radio signal from the external device based on at least part
of the determined state of the communication channel. For example,
if, as a result of the identification of the state of the
communication channel, the electronic device 200 is found to be in
the LoS with the external device, the processor 210 may activate
the second communication circuit 222. For another example, if, as a
result of the identification of the state of the communication
channel, the electronic device 200 is found to be in a non-line of
sight (NLoS) with the external device, the processor 210 may
deactivate the second communication circuit 222.
[0094] According to various embodiments, the second communication
circuit 222 supporting directional wireless communication may
include, for example, and without limitation, a communication
module performing wireless communication using a mmWave band (e.g.,
20-300 GHz band). For example, the second communication circuit 222
may include a Wi-Fi module supporting wireless communication using
the IEEE 802.11ad standard. The IEEE 802.11ad has a carrier
frequency in the 60 GHz band, and may have a directional wireless
communication characteristic by collecting and transmitting energy
of radio waves based on the beamforming technology.
[0095] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining
the state of a communication channel according to various
embodiments.
[0096] FIG. 4 is an example embodiment of the operation of
determining the state of the communication channel based on at
least part of the at least one first radio signal at operation 320
of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is illustrated as using the DFT-based channel
estimation method, but embodiments of the present disclosure are
not limited thereto.
[0097] At operation 410, the processor 210 (e.g., the processor 120
of FIG. 1) of the electronic device 200 (e.g., the electronic
device 101 of FIG. 1) may estimate state information of a
communication channel based on at least part of at least one first
radio signal received from an external device. The state
information of the communication channel may refer, for example, to
a change over time in the communication channel, which occurs in a
multi-path channel due to ICI, for example.
[0098] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may estimate the state information of the communication channel
through training. Training is a process of identifying a Doppler
effect according to multi-path interference and mobility in a
mobile reception environment, for example. For example, the first
radio signal may be transmitted in a packet form. Such a packet may
include training symbols within a predefined area. The electronic
device 200 is already aware of an area including training symbols
within a received packet, and may estimate state information of a
communication channel based on the training symbols.
[0099] The state information of the communication channel estimated
through the training may include a CFR form, that is, frequency
area values because it is obtained through a PHY layer.
[0100] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 that has
estimated the state information of the communication channel at
operation 410 may perform an operation of converting the estimated
state information of the communication channel into time-axis data
at operation 420. According to various embodiments, the processor
210 may convert the estimated state information into the time-axis
data using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT).
[0101] A CFR may not be easy in analyzing channel characteristics
because it does not express a latency time and multi-path.
Accordingly, the CFR may be converted into a CIR form in which a
latency time and multi-path value are incorporated.
[0102] State information of a communication channel estimated
through training is obtained in a CFR form in a frequency domain,
but may be converted into a CIR form in a time domain by performing
IFFT on a CFR.
[0103] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 that has
converted the estimated state information of the communication
channel into the time-axis data may determine whether the
electronic device 200, the first communication circuit 221 of the
electronic device 200 or a corresponding antenna is in the LoS or
NLoS with the external device that has transmitted the first radio
signal at operation 430.
[0104] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may estimate state information of a communication channel whenever
it receivers a first radio signal. For example, the electronic
device 200 may obtain a CIR whenever it receives a first radio
signal. Such a CIR may be accumulated in the memory 230.
[0105] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may determine the statistical characteristics of a multi-path
channel using accumulated CIRs. For example, the electronic device
200 may determine the statistical characteristics of a multi-path
channel through a probability density function (PDF) form. Since
each of the CIRs includes amplitude values according to a latency
time, the electronic device 200 may calculate the mean of amplitude
values in a given channel and a standard deviation thereof through
the accumulated CIRs. That is, an impulse response in a given
channel may be expressed in a PDF form. The electronic device 200
may analyze the PDF form based on various criteria, and may
determine whether the electronic device 200 and an external device,
the first communication circuit 221 of the electronic device 200
and the external device or the antenna of the electronic device 200
and the external device are in the LoS or NLoS. For example, the
electronic device 200 may determine whether they are in the LoS or
NLoS depending on how much amplitude values expressed in a PDF form
are symmetrical and/or how much amplitude values form a sharp
form.
[0106] In accordance with an example embodiment, the electronic
device 200 may determine whether the electronic device 200 and an
external device, the first communication circuit 221 of the
electronic device 200 and the external device or the antenna of the
electronic device 200 and the external device are in the LoS or
NLoS based on an amplitude value in a given latency time within
accumulated CIRs. For example, the electronic device 200 may add an
amplitude value in a first given latency time and an amplitude
value in a second given latency time together, and may determine
whether they are in the LoS or NLoS by comparing the sum with the
sum of all amplitude values. For another example, the electronic
device 200 may determine whether they are in the LoS or NLoS by
comparing an amplitude value in a first given latency time with an
amplitude value in a second given latency time. The amplitude value
in the first given latency time and the amplitude value in the
second given latency time may be used to identify the LoS
environment solely or in combination.
[0107] A specific number of samples or more may be necessary to
express the statistical characteristics of a channel in a PDF form.
For example, one packet may be one sample. Accordingly, the
statistical characteristics of a channel may be expressed in a PDF
form only when a least a plurality of packets is obtained. The
number of required samples may be designated and may be adjusted
depending on the environment. For example, the number of required
samples may be designated to be 10 indoors and may be designated to
be a number at least greater than 10 outdoors.
[0108] FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating an example showing estimated
state information of a channel in the LoS environment. From FIG. 5,
it may be seen that the state information of the channel is
expressed in a CFR form because amplitude values are identified
based on subcarriers. The electronic device according to an example
embodiment may deliver a CFR used in the PHY layer to the
processor. For example, the electronic device may store the CFR in
the register of MAC or produce a separate data path and deliver it
to the processor.
[0109] FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating an example in which the state
information of the channel shown in FIG. 5 has been converted into
time-axis data. From FIG. 6, it may be seen that 610, 620 and 630
having values of a given amplitude value (e.g., 6 dB) or more mean
CIRs and signal values at locations other than the CIRs correspond
to noise components. That is, a transmitted signal is delayed and
received at the locations 610, 620 and 630 through a multi-path
channel. The received signals may be construed as having amplitude
values corresponding to 610, 620 and 630.
[0110] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may determine whether it is located in the LoS or NLoS based on an
amplitude value in a given latency time within accumulated CIRs.
For example, the electronic device 200 may add amplitude values
corresponding to 610 and 620 together, and may identify the LoS
environment by identifying whether the sum of the amplitude values
corresponding to 610 and 620 is a given ratio or more of the sum of
all amplitude values. For another example, the electronic device
200 may identify the LoS environment by identifying whether the
amplitude value corresponding to 610 is greater than the amplitude
value corresponding to 620. The amplitude values corresponding to
610 and 620 may be criteria for identifying the LoS environment
individually or simultaneously.
[0111] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments.
[0112] Referring to FIG. 7, at operation 710, the processor 210
(e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1) of the electronic device 200
(e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1) may control the first
communication circuit 221 configured to support omnidirectional
wireless communication to receive at least one first radio signal
through a communication channel from an external device.
[0113] According to various embodiments, the first communication
circuit 221 may include, for example, and without limitation, a
legacy Wi-Fi module supporting wireless communication using at
least one standard of IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and
IEEE 802.11ac.
[0114] According to various embodiments, the first radio signal may
include, for example, and without limitation, at least one of a
data packet, a beacon, a probe request and a probe response
depending on a connection state.
[0115] A channel having the widest bandwidth may be selected as the
channel through which the first radio signals are transmitted and
received. For example, in the standard such as 802.11n or 802.11ac,
a bandwidth may be selected. For example, a channel having at least
one bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz and 160 MHz may be selected. In
this case, the electronic device may select the channel of the 160
MHz bandwidth having a relatively wide bandwidth. The reason for
this is that as the bandwidth is widened, the accuracy of
monitoring results may increase.
[0116] At operation 720, the processor 210 of the electronic device
200 may identify device information of the external device based on
at least part of the at least one first radio signal.
[0117] According to various embodiments, the first radio signal may
include device information of the external device. For example, in
accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard, a packet, such as a
beacon, a probe request or a probe response, may include a
management frame.
[0118] FIG. 8 illustrates a management frame according to various
embodiments. Referring to FIG. 8, the management frame may, for
example, be divided into a MAC header 810 and a frame body 820. The
MAC header 810 may include a frame control region, duration (or
association ID (AID)) and 3 (or 4) addresses, for example. The
frame body 820 may include a higher layer message, such as
information for control and management or logical link control
(LLC), that is, a MAC service data unit (MSDU). Furthermore, in
accordance with a standard added to IEEE 802.11ad, the frame body
820 may include an information field. The information field may
include information about multiple bands capable of being supported
by a device.
[0119] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating part of an information
field including information about multiple bands according to
various embodiments. Referring to FIG. 9, the information field may
include at least an element ID field 910, a multi-band control
field 920, a band ID field 930 and an operating class field
940.
[0120] The element ID field 910 may show that information related
to a multi-band has been included in the information field, for
example. For example, if the element ID field indicates "158", it
may indicate that an external device that has transmitted a first
radio signal supports a multi-band.
[0121] The multi-band control field 920 may include device role
information about a role being performed by an external device in a
used frequency band, preference connection information, for
example.
[0122] The band ID field 930 may include information about a
communication capability supported by an external device, for
example. For example, if the band ID field indicates "5", it may
indicate that an external device has a carrier frequency in the 60
GHz band.
[0123] The operating class field 940 includes information about
channels permitted in each country from among a plurality of
channels, for example. For example, a 60 GHz frequency band may
have four channels. Channels permitted for each country from among
the four channels may be different. For example, in the United
States, three channels have been permitted in the 60 GHz frequency
band. In this case, the operating class field may record that only
the three channels are permitted.
[0124] In accordance with an example embodiment, the electronic
device 200 that has received the first radio signal (e.g., a
beacon) from the external device may obtain device information of
the external device with reference to the information field, and
may determine whether the external device supports a
multi-band.
[0125] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 that has
identified the device information of the external device at
operation 720 may determine whether to trigger LoS/NLoS
confirmation service at operation 730. In accordance with an
example embodiment, the electronic device 200 may determine that
the external device can support second wireless communication, and
may determine whether to trigger LoS/NLoS confirmation service.
[0126] Whether the electronic device and an external device are in
the LoS and/or the NLoS may be problematic when directional
wireless communication is performed in a mmWave band. For example,
if only omnidirectional wireless communication is to be used, a
process of determining whether the electronic device and an
external device are in the LoS and/or the NLoS may be unnecessary.
For example, if only omnidirectional wireless communication is to
be used or if an external device does not support directional
wireless communication, an unnecessary power loss and memory
consumption may be caused by determining whether the electronic
device and an external device are in the LoS and/or the NLoS. In
accordance with an example embodiment, the electronic device 200
may determine whether the electronic device and an external device
are in the LoS and/or the NLoS based on the trigger of LoS/NLoS
confirmation service.
[0127] According to various embodiments, the LoS/NLoS confirmation
service may be triggered in response to a user's command or the
occurrence of a given event.
[0128] The triggering of LoS/NLoS confirmation service in response
to a user's command may include a case where an application to
identify the LoS environment is executed or a case where a user
activates the second communication circuit 222, for example.
[0129] The triggering of LoS/NLoS confirmation service based on the
occurrence of a given event may include triggering based on the
characteristics of transmitted content, the characteristics of an
external device, and the moving state of the electronic device 200,
for example.
[0130] The triggering based on the characteristics of transmitted
content may include various cases, such as a case where using the
second communication circuit 222 rather than the first
communication circuit 221 depending on the capacity of content, a
method of transmitting content or an application used to transmit
content is determined to be more efficient, for example. In an
embodiment, if streaming service for content (e.g., UHD video)
having high resolution is required, the electronic device 200 may
recognize that a great bandwidth is necessary and trigger LoS/NLoS
confirmation service.
[0131] The triggering based on the characteristics of the external
device may include various cases, such as a case where using the
second communication circuit 222 rather than the first
communication circuit 221 based on device information of an
external device is determined to be more efficient, for example. In
an embodiment, if the buffer of an external device is determined to
be great compared to transmission speed according to the first
communication circuit 221, the electronic device 200 may trigger
LoS/NLoS confirmation service in order to transmit data to the
second communication circuit 222 having higher transmission speed
than the first communication circuit 221.
[0132] The triggering based on the moving state of the electronic
device 200 may include a case where a movement of the electronic
device 200 is obtained by GPS sensors, for example. For example,
the electronic device 200 may determine the state of a
communication channel when a movement of the electronic device 200
is obtained, and may check a change in the LoS/NLoS environment. In
another embodiment, the electronic device 200 may trigger LoS/NLoS
confirmation service when a movement of an external device is
obtained.
[0133] At operation 740, when the LoS/NLoS confirmation service is
triggered, the processor 210 of the electronic device 200 may
determine whether RSSI corresponding to the at least one first
radio signal satisfies a given condition.
[0134] RSSI may refer to a numerical value indicative of power of a
signal received by the electronic device 200. A method of measuring
RSSI is evident to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and
thus a detailed description thereof in this document is
omitted.
[0135] In accordance with various embodiments, the given condition
may include that RSSI corresponding to the first radio signal is
greater than or equal to a first threshold. For example, the
electronic device 200 may previously designate the first threshold
(e.g., -50 dBm) and determine whether RSSI corresponding to the
first radio signal is greater than or equal to the first threshold.
If the RSSI corresponding to the first radio signal is determined
to be greater than or equal to the first threshold, the electronic
device 200 may determine that the given condition is satisfied. For
another example, if the RSSI corresponding to the first radio
signal is determined to be smaller than the first threshold, the
electronic device 200 may determine that the given condition is not
satisfied.
[0136] At operation 750, the processor 210 of the electronic device
200 may determine whether a sufficient number of the first radio
signals have been obtained.
[0137] In accordance with various embodiments, the electronic
device 200 may collect the one or more first radio signals having
RSSI satisfying a given condition. For example, a specific number
of samples (e.g., 10) or more are required to express the
statistical characteristics of a channel in a PDF form. The
electronic device 200 may collect a predetermined number of samples
(e.g., 10) of the first radio signals having RSSI satisfying a
given condition. The number of required samples of the first radio
signals may be previously designated and may be adjusted depending
on the environment. For example, the number of required samples may
be designated to be 10 indoors and may be designated to be a number
at least greater than 10 outdoors.
[0138] In accordance with various embodiments, the electronic
device 200 may determine whether RSSI corresponding to a received
first radio signal satisfies a given condition whenever it receives
the first radio signal. For example, the electronic device 200 may
collect a first radio signal having RSSI satisfying a given
condition and may not collect a first radio signal having RSSI not
satisfying a given condition.
[0139] In accordance with various embodiments, the electronic
device 200 may collect first radio signals and determine the mean
RSSI corresponding to the collected first radio signals satisfies a
given condition. For example, the electronic device 200 may first
collect first radio signals corresponding to the number of required
samples, may obtain the mean RSSI of the collected first radio
signals, and may determine whether the mean RSSI satisfies a given
condition.
[0140] If it is determined that the sufficient number of first
radio signals has been obtained at operation 750, the processor 210
of the electronic device 200 may determine the state of the
communication channel based on at least some of the sufficient
number of first radio signals at operation 760. According to
various embodiments, the first radio signal includes a preamble
including a plurality of first training symbols (e.g., short
training symbol) and a plurality of second training symbols (e.g.,
long training symbol). The electronic device 200 may determine the
state of the communication channel using at least some of the
plurality of first training symbols and the plurality of second
training symbols.
[0141] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preamble
including short training symbols and long training symbols. The
short training symbol 1010 may include a short training OFDM
symbol. The short training symbols 1010 may be used for frame
timing acquisition, automatic gain control (AGC), diversity
detection and coarse frequency/time synchronization, for example.
The long training symbols 1020 may include a long training OFDM
symbol. The long training symbols 1020 may be used for fine
frequency/time synchronization and channel estimation.
[0142] The electronic device 200 is already aware of an area
including training symbols within a packet, and may determine the
state of a communication channel based on a plurality of training
symbols (in particular, long training symbols). Operation 760 is
substantially the same as operation 320 of FIG. 3, and thus a
detailed description thereof is substituted with the description of
operation 320.
[0143] At operation 770, the processor 210 of the electronic device
200 may determine skewness and/or a kurtosis based on at least part
of the determined state of the communication channel.
[0144] FIG. 11A is an example in which channel impulse responses
obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS environment are expressed
in a PDF form. Skewness may refer, for example, to a value
numerically indicating how much amplitude values are asymmetric
after accumulated impulse responses are expressed in a PDF form
based on an amplitude value. Channel impulse responses obtained in
a given channel may be expressed in a PDF form based on an
amplitude value. From (a) of FIG. 11A in which channel impulse
responses obtained in the LoS environment are expressed in a PDF
form, it may be intuitively seen that amplitude values have a
symmetrical form based on an amplitude value 1110 having the
highest density. On the other hand, from (b) of FIG. 11A in which
channel impulse responses obtained in the NLoS environment are
expressed in a PDF form, it may be intuitively seen that amplitude
values are asymmetrically distributed based on an amplitude value
1120 having the highest density. This may be aware more clearly by
calculating skewness. For example, the skewness may be calculated
(determined) through the following equation:
s = E { .chi. - .mu. } 3 .sigma. 3 ##EQU00001##
[0145] In this equation, s may refer to skewness, .chi. may refer
to an amplitude value, .mu. may refer to the mean of amplitude
values, .sigma. may refer a standard deviation, and E may refer a
frequency distribution.
[0146] In this case, the skewness(s) may form symmetry as it is
closer to 0, that is, the LoS environment.
[0147] FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example in which
skewnesses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS environment are
expressed in a PDF form. For example, from (a) of FIG. 11B in which
skewnesses obtained in the LoS environment are expressed in a PDF
form, it may be seen that the skewnesses chiefly have values closer
to 0. On the other hand, from (b) of FIG. 11B in which skewnesses
obtained in the NLoS environment are expressed in a PDF form, it
may be seen that the skewnesses are distributed to various values
greater than or smaller than 0.
[0148] If such a characteristic is used, skewness may be used to
determine an LoS environment and/or an NLoS environment. For
example, an LoS environment and/or an NLoS environment may be
determined by previously setting a threshold range and identifying
whether obtained skewness falls within the threshold range. More
specifically, if obtained skewness is in a predetermined first
range (e.g., -1.about.1), the electronic device 200 may determine
that it is in the LoS environment along with an external device. If
the obtained skewness is out of the predetermined first range, the
electronic device 200 may determine that it is in the NLoS
environment along with the external device.
[0149] FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example in which
channel impulse responses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS
environment are expressed in a PDF form. A kurtosis may refer, for
example, to a value numerically indicating how much amplitude
values have a sharp form after accumulated impulse responses are
expressed in a PDF form based on an amplitude value.
[0150] Channel impulse responses obtained in a given channel may be
expressed in a PDF form based on an amplitude value. From (a) of
FIG. 12A in which channel impulse responses obtained in the LoS
environment are expressed in a PDF form, it may be seen that
amplitude values have a sharp form based on an amplitude value
having the highest probability. On the other hand, from (b) of FIG.
12A in which channel impulse responses obtained in the NLoS
environment are expressed in a PDF form, it may be seen that
amplitude values have a relatively gentle form based on an
amplitude value having the highest probability. This may be aware
more clearly through a PDF of a kurtosis. For example, the kurtosis
may be calculated (determined) through the following equation:
k = E { .chi. - .mu. } 4 .sigma. 4 ##EQU00002##
[0151] In this equation, k may refer to a kurtosis, .chi. may refer
to an amplitude value, .mu. may refer to the mean of amplitude
values, .sigma. may refer to a standard deviation, and E may refer
to a frequency distribution.
[0152] In this case, the kurtosis (k) is sharp as it increases,
that is, the LoS environment.
[0153] FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating an example in which
kurtoses obtained in an LoS environment and NLoS environment are
expressed in a PDF form. For example, from (a) of FIG. 12B in which
kurtoses obtained in the LoS environment are expressed in a PDF
form, it may be seen that the kurtoses have relatively great
values. On the other hand, from (b) of FIG. 12B in which kurtoses
obtained in the NLoS environment are expressed in a PDF form, it
may be seen that the kurtoses have relatively small values.
[0154] If such a characteristic is used, a kurtosis may be used to
determine an LoS environment and/or an NLoS environment. For
example, the LoS environment and/or the NLoS environment may be
determined by previously setting a threshold 1230 and identifying
whether an obtained kurtosis is greater than the threshold 1230.
More specifically, if an obtained kurtosis is greater than or equal
to the threshold 1230, the electronic device 200 may determine that
it is in the LoS along with an external device. If the obtained
kurtosis is smaller than the threshold 1230, the electronic device
200 may determine that it is in the NLoS along with the external
device.
[0155] Referring back to FIG. 7, the processor 210 of the
electronic device 200 that has determined skewness and/or a
kurtosis may determine whether the determined skewness and/or
kurtosis satisfies a given condition at operation 780.
[0156] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may identify whether skewness for the state of a communication
channel is in a predetermined first range (e.g., a threshold range
1130 of FIG. 11B). For example, the electronic device 200 may
determine an LoS environment or NLoS environment depending on
whether skewness is in the predetermined first range. For example,
if digitized skewness is in a predetermined first range (e.g.,
-1.about.1), the electronic device 200 may determine that an
external device is in an LoS environment.
[0157] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may identify (determine) whether a kurtosis for the state of a
communication channel is greater than a second threshold (e.g., a
threshold 1230 of FIG. 12B). For example, the electronic device 200
may determine an LoS environment or NLoS environment depending on
whether a digitized kurtosis is greater than the second threshold.
For example, if the digitized kurtosis is greater than the
predetermined second threshold (e.g., 1), the electronic device 200
may determine that an external device is in an LoS environment.
[0158] Although not shown, the first range related to skewness
and/or the second threshold related to kurtosis may vary depending
on the distance between the electronic device 200 and an external
device. For example, the electronic device 200 may determine the
distance between the electronic device 200 and an external device
based on RSSI corresponding to a first radio signal, and may
determine the first range and/or the second threshold based on the
determined distance. In accordance with another embodiment, the
electronic device 200 may determine whether it is located indoors
or outdoors using GPS sensors, and may determine the first range
related to skewness and/or the second threshold related to
kurtosis.
[0159] The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 that has
determined whether the obtained skewness and/or kurtosis satisfies
the given condition may determine whether to activate the second
communication circuit 222 based on a result of a comparison at
operation 790.
[0160] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 200
may determine an LoS environment and/or an NLoS environment based
on the obtained skewness and/or kurtosis, may activate the second
communication circuit 222, and may determine whether to transmit
and receive second radio signals. For example, the electronic
device 200 may determine an LoS environment by identifying that
skewness is in a first range, and may activate the second
communication circuit 222. In an embodiment, the electronic device
200 may determine an LoS environment by identifying a kurtosis is
greater than or equal to a second threshold, and may activate the
second communication circuit 222. For another example, the
electronic device 200 may determine an NLoS environment by
identifying that skewness is out of a first range or a kurtosis is
smaller than a second threshold, and may not activate the second
communication circuit 222.
[0161] In accordance with various embodiments, if the electronic
device 200 is a router (or AP), it may activate the second
communication circuit of an external device. For example, the AP
may instruct the external device to activate the second
communication circuit a basic service set (BSS) transaction
management (BTM) frame exchange.
[0162] In accordance with an example embodiment, the processor 210
of the electronic device 200 that has determined that a sufficient
number of the first radio signals cannot be obtained at operation
750, it may not activate the second communication circuit 222. A
second radio signal having severe signal attenuation may be greatly
influenced by the distance between the electronic device 200 and an
external device regardless of whether they are in an LoS
environment. For example, if the distance between the electronic
device 200 and an external device is great, communication cannot be
smoothly performed using a second radio signal. Accordingly, if a
first radio signal having RSSI satisfying a given condition cannot
be sufficiently obtained, performing communication based on the
first radio signal using the first communication circuit 221 may be
relatively smooth rather than performing communication based on a
second radio signal by activating the second communication circuit
222. Accordingly, the electronic device 200 may determine that a
sufficient number of first radio signals cannot be obtained, may
not activate the second communication circuit 222, and may maintain
communication with the external device based on the first radio
signal using the first communication circuit 221.
[0163] According to various embodiments, the processor 210 of the
electronic device 200 may determine the connection state of a
second radio signal. For example, although the electronic device
200 has determined that the electronic device and an external
device are in an LoS environment, the environment may continue to
change over time (e.g., a movement of the electronic device 200).
Accordingly, the electronic device 200 may continue to determine
the connection state of the second radio signal. For example, the
electronic device 200 may periodically check RSSI corresponding to
a second radio signal received from an external device or may
determine whether a second radio signal transmitted by an external
device is delayed or lost. The electronic device 200 may deactivate
the second communication circuit 222 based on a result of the
determination of the connection state of the second radio signal,
and may determine whether to activate the first communication
circuit 221. For example, if the first communication circuit 221
has been activated, the electronic device 200 may perform
communication with an external device using a first radio signal.
If the first communication circuit 221 has been deactivated, the
electronic device 200 may activate the first communication circuit
221 and perform communication with the external device using the
first radio signal.
[0164] A method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication according to various embodiments
may include receiving at least one first radio signal through a
communication channel from an external device capable of supporting
omnidirectional wireless communication and directional wireless
communication using a first communication circuit configured to
support omnidirectional wireless communication, determining the
state of the communication channel based on at least part of the at
least one first radio signal, and activating a second communication
circuit configured to support the directional wireless
communication based on at least part of the determined state so
that the second communication circuit receives a second radio
signal from the external device.
[0165] In a method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication according to various embodiments,
the first communication circuit may be configured to support a
first carrier frequency corresponding to a 2.4 GHz band or 5.0 GHz
band. The second communication circuit may be configured to support
a second carrier frequency corresponding to a 60 GHz band.
[0166] In a method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication according to various embodiments,
the operation of determining the state of the communication channel
may include an operation of determining whether the electronic
device and the external device are in an LoS.
[0167] In a method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication according to various embodiments,
the operation of activating the second communication circuit may
include an operation of determining skewness or a kurtosis based on
at least part of a CFR and/or CIR corresponding to the first radio
signal and an operation of determining whether the skewness or
kurtosis satisfies a given condition.
[0168] In a method of controlling an electronic device supporting
multi-band wireless communication according to various embodiments,
the at least one first radio signal includes a radio signal
transmitted at a first point of time and radio signal transmitted
at a second point of time by the external device. A corresponding
one of the skewness and the kurtosis may be determined based on at
least part of the radio signal transmitted at the first point of
time and the radio signal transmitted at the second point of
time.
[0169] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an
electronic device according to various embodiments is
controlled.
[0170] A location (a) shows a case where an obstacle is present
between an external device 1310 (e.g., the electronic device 102,
electronic device 104 or server 108 of FIG. 1) and an electronic
device 1300 (e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1 or the
electronic device 200 of FIG. 2). The electronic device 1300 may
determine that it in an NLoS environment along with the external
device according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For
example, although a sufficient number of first radio signals having
RSSI satisfying a given condition have been obtained, the
electronic device 1300 may determine the NLoS environment based on
a different state (e.g., skewness or kurtosis) and may not activate
a second communication circuit (e.g., the second communication
circuit 222).
[0171] If the electronic device 1300 has moved from the location
(a) to a location (b), it may be in an LoS environment. For
example, the electronic device 1300 may determine the LoS
environment based on RSSI, skewness and a kurtosis, and may
activate the second communication circuit based on the determined
LoS environment.
[0172] On the other hand, if the electronic device 1300 has moved
from the location (b) to the location (a) again, the electronic
device 1300 may deactivate the activated second wireless
communication circuit.
[0173] The electronic device 1300 according to an example
embodiment may determine the state of a communication channel based
on at least part of a first radio signal periodically or whenever
an event (e.g., a movement of a terminal) occurs.
[0174] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an
electronic device according to various embodiments is
controlled.
[0175] A first area (e.g., 1411 or 1421) may refer, for example, to
an area where only first radio signals can be exchanged using a
first communication band (e.g., 2.4/5 GHz communication band). A
second area (e.g., 1412 or 1422) may refer, for example, to an area
where second radio signals using a second communication band (e.g.,
60 GHz communication band) in addition to a first radio signal
using a first communication band (e.g., 2.4/5 GHz communication
band) can be exchanged. For example, the first area 1411 or 1421
may refer, for example, to an area outside the second area 1412 or
1422.
[0176] For example, an electronic device 1400 (e.g., the electronic
device 101 of FIG. 1 or the electronic device 200 of FIG. 2) may
perform communication with a first external device 1410 using a
first radio signal or second radio signal based on the first
communication circuit 221 or second communication circuit 222 at a
location {circle around (1)} within the second area 1412 of the
first external device 1410 (e.g., the electronic device 102,
electronic device 104 or server 108 of FIG. 1). In accordance with
an example embodiment, the electronic device 1400 may move from the
location {circle around (1)} to a location {circle around (2)}. For
example, the electronic device 1400 in the second area 1412 of the
first external device 1410 may enter the first area 1411 of the
first external device 1410, may recognize that it has entered a
first area 1430, and may deactivate the second communication
circuit. For example, the electronic device 1400 may determine the
connection state of the first radio signal or second radio signal
received from the first external device 1410, and may identify that
it has entered the first area 1411 of the first external device
1410. The electronic device 1400 that has deactivated the second
communication circuit may perform communication with the first
external device 1410 using the first radio signal through the first
communication circuit at the location {circle around (2)}.
[0177] According to various embodiments, the location {circle
around (2)} may be a roaming area 1430 where the electronic device
1400 can perform communication with both the first external device
1410 and a second external device 1420 (e.g., the electronic device
102, electronic device 104 or server 108 of FIG. 1). For example,
the roaming area 1430 may refer, for example, an area where at
least part of the first area 1411 of the first external device 1410
and at least part of the second area 1421 of the second external
device 1420 partially overlap.
[0178] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 1400
may receive a first radio signal transmitted by the second external
device 1420 through the first communication circuit at the location
{circle around (2)}. For example, the electronic device 1400 that
has entered the roaming area 1430 of the first external device 1410
and the second external device 1420 may receive a first radio
signal (e.g., a signal of a 2.4/5 GHz communication band)
transmitted by the second external device 1420. The electronic
device 1400 may compare the RSSI of a first radio signal
transmitted by the first external device 1410 with the RSSI of a
first radio signal transmitted by the second external device 1420,
and may perform roaming from the first external device 1410 to the
second external device 1420 based on a predetermined roaming
condition.
[0179] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 1400
may determine the state of a communication channel with the second
external device 1420 based on a first radio signal transmitted by
the second external device 1420 periodically or in response to the
occurrence of an event. For example, the electronic device 1400 may
determine the state of a communication channel with the second
external device in a predetermined cycle (e.g., 1 minute, 5 minutes
or 10 minutes). For another example, the electronic device 1400 may
determine the state of a communication channel with the second
external device 1420 whenever a first radio signal is received from
the second external device 1420. For another example, the
electronic device 1400 may determine the state of a communication
channel with the second external device 1420 when it identifies
(determines) that there is a problem in the connection state with
the first external device 1410 or in response to a user request for
identifying the state of a communication channel with the second
external device 1420.
[0180] In accordance with an example embodiment, the electronic
device 1400 may move from the location {circle around (2)} to a
location {circle around (3)}. The electronic device 1400 that has
moved to the location {circle around (3)} within the second area
1422 of the second external device 1420 may perform communication
with the second external device 1420 using a first radio signal or
second radio signal through the first communication circuit or
second communication circuit. In order to perform communication
using the second radio signal, the electronic device 1400 may
determine the state of a communication channel with the second
external device 1420, and may activate the second communication
circuit based on a determination of an LoS environment.
Furthermore, if an NLoS environment is determined based on a
determination of the state of the communication channel with the
second external device 1420, the electronic device 1400 may not
activate the second communication circuit.
[0181] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments.
[0182] In accordance with various embodiments, the processor 210 of
the electronic device 200 may receive a plurality of first radio
signals from an external device, may select valid signals of the
plurality of received first radio signals, and may determine the
state of a communication channel. FIG. 15 illustrates an example of
a method of selecting such valid signals and determining the state
of a communication channel. In accordance with an example
embodiment, the method of FIG. 15 may be performed in a one-time
manner when operation 730 of FIG. 7 occurs or may be periodically
performed in a predetermined cycle.
[0183] Referring to FIG. 15, at operation 1510, the processor 210
of the electronic device 200 may receive a plurality of first radio
signals from an external device. The external device may transmit
the plurality of first radio signals to the electronic device 200
because a specific number of samples or more are required to
express the statistical characteristics of a channel in a PDF
form.
[0184] At operation 1520, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may determine whether a sufficient number of the first
radio signals have been received. The sufficient number of first
radio signals may refer, for example, to the number of samples or
more necessary to determine at least the LoS. In an embodiment, if
a number that may be determined to be a sufficient number is
previously designated and the predetermined number of first radio
signals is received, it may be determined that a sufficient number
of first radio signals have been received. If a sufficient number
of the first radio signals have not been received, the processor
210 of the electronic device 200 may return to operation 1510 and
receive one or more first radio signals from the external
device.
[0185] If it is determined that a sufficient number of the first
radio signals have been received at operation 1520, the processor
210 of the electronic device 200 may determine valid signals of the
plurality of received first radio signals at operation 1530.
[0186] In accordance with various embodiments, if RSSI
corresponding to a first radio signal satisfies a given condition,
the electronic device 200 may determine the radio signal to be a
valid signal. For example, the electronic device 200 may identify
RSSI corresponding to each received first radio signal and
determine a first radio signal having RSSI satisfying a given
condition to be a valid signal. For another example, the electronic
device 200 may obtain at least some of a plurality of received
first radio signals, and may identify the obtained first radio
signals to be valid signals depending on whether the mean RSSI of
the obtained first radio signals satisfies a given condition.
[0187] At operation 1540, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may determine whether the number of identified valid
signals is greater than or equal to the number of samples necessary
to determine the LoS. For example, if it is determined that the
number of valid signals is equal to or smaller than the number of
required samples, the processor 210 of the electronic device 200
may return to operation 1510 and further receive one or more first
radio signals from the external device.
[0188] If it is determined that the number of valid signals greater
than the number of required samples has been received at operation
1540, the processor 210 of the electronic device 200 may determine
the state of a communication channel based on the valid signals at
operation 1550. For example, the processor 210 may determine the
state of the communication channel based on the training symbols of
each of the valid signals. The state of the communication channels
of the valid signals may be accumulated and obtained in a PDF form.
The processor 210 of the electronic device 200 may determine an LoS
environment or NLoS environment based on the PDF form. Operation
1540 is substantially the same as operation 320 of FIG. 3 or
operations 760 to 780 of FIG. 7, and thus a detailed description
thereof is substituted with the aforementioned contents.
[0189] At operation 1560, the electronic device may activate the
second communication circuit 222 based on at least part of the
determined state so that the second communication circuit 222 may
receive a second radio signal from the external device. Operation
1560 is substantially the same as operation 330 of FIG. 3 or
operation 790 of FIG. 7, and thus a detailed description thereof is
substituted with the aforementioned contents.
[0190] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
an electronic device according to various embodiments.
[0191] In accordance with various embodiments, the processor 210 of
the electronic device 200 may continue to determine the state of a
communication channel and adaptively activate or deactivate the
second communication circuit. Accordingly, FIG. 16 may be performed
at various points of time. For example, FIG. 16 may refer, for
example, to operations that are performed repeatedly and
continuously when a movement of the electronic device 200 or
external device occurs or in a predetermined cycle after it is
determined that the external device supports a multi-band. For
another example, the operations of FIG. 16 may be performed when
operation 730 of FIG. 7 occurs. In an example embodiment, the
operations of FIG. 16 may be performed after operation 790 of FIG.
7 or operation 1560 of FIG. 15.
[0192] Referring to FIG. 16, at operation 1610, the processor 210
of the electronic device 200 may set a window (time) for an LoS
determination. The window (time) may be used to designate a
plurality of first radio signals used to determine the state of a
communication channel. For example, the window may designate a
plurality of first radio signals while moving in a time axis. The
first radio signals designated through the window may be used to
determine the state of a communication channel. In accordance with
an example embodiment, the window may be set as given duration. For
example, the window may be set as given duration of 7 seconds.
[0193] At operation 1620, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may receive a first radio signal from an external
device.
[0194] At operation 1630, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may determine a valid signal based on RSSI corresponding
to the received first radio signal.
[0195] In accordance with various embodiments, if RSSI
corresponding to a first radio signal satisfies a given condition,
the electronic device 200 may determine the first radio signal to
be a valid signal. For example, the electronic device 200 may
previously set a first threshold (e.g., -50 dBm) and determine
whether RSSI corresponding to a first radio signal is greater than
or equal to the first threshold. If it is determined that the RSSI
corresponding to the first radio signal is greater than or equal to
the first threshold, the electronic device 200 may determine the
first radio signal to be a valid signal.
[0196] At operation 1640, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may determine whether the duration set as the window has
elapsed from a point of time at which the first radio signal was
first received. For example, if the window has been set as duration
of 7 seconds, whether the duration of 7 seconds has elapsed from a
point of time at which a first radio signal was first received may
be determined. If it is determined that the duration set as the
window has not elapsed, the processor 210 of the electronic device
200 may return to operation 1620 and receive a first radio signal
from the external device.
[0197] If it is determined that the duration set as the window has
elapsed, at operation 1650, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may determine whether the number of first radio signals
determined to be valid signals within the window is greater than a
given number. For example, the processor 210 may determine whether
the number of first radio signals determined to be valid signals
within the window is greater than a number designated to determine
the LoS (e.g., the number of required samples).
[0198] If it is determined that the number of first radio signals
determined to be valid signals within the window is greater than
the given number at operation 1650, the processor 210 of the
electronic device 200 may determine the state of a communication
channel based on accumulated signals within the window at operation
1660. In accordance with various embodiments, the electronic device
200 may determine the state of a communication channel based on
signals determined to be valid signals. For example, since invalid
signals within a window may be accumulated, the electronic device
200 may determine the state of a communication channel based on
signals determined to be valid signals. Operation 1650 is
substantially the same as operation 320 of FIG. 3 or operations 760
to 780 of FIG. 7, and thus a detailed description thereof is
substituted with the aforementioned contents.
[0199] At operation 1670, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may activate the second communication circuit 222 based
on at least part of the determined state so that the second
communication circuit 222 can receive a second radio signal from
the external device. Operation 1670 is substantially the same as
operation 330 of FIG. 3 or operation 790 of FIG. 7, and thus a
detailed description thereof is substituted with the aforementioned
contents. Furthermore, the processor 210 of the electronic device
200 may perform operation 1620 after operation 1670. In accordance
with an example embodiment, after the processor 210 of the
electronic device 200 activates the second communication circuit
222, the processor may determine the state of a communication
channel while continuously moving the window. For example, while
the second communication circuit 222 is activated, the electronic
device 200 may maintain the activation of the first communication
circuit 221 and continuously determine the state of a communication
channel.
[0200] If the number of first radio signals determined to be valid
signals within the window is equal to or smaller than the given
number at operation 1650, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may move the window at operation 1680. In accordance
with various embodiments, the window may move in a time axis at a
preset speed. For example, the processor of the electronic device
200 may increase a window by adding a given time (e.g., 1 second)
based on the present time, may maintain given duration (e.g., 7
seconds) by removing a window corresponding to the given time
(e.g., 1 second) from the start time of the window (e.g., time
prior to 7 seconds from the present time), and may move the
window.
[0201] At operation 1690, the processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may update accumulated signals within the window. For
example, as a window moves, a first radio signal not located within
the window may be removed from accumulated signals within the
window, and a first radio signal newly located within the window
may be accumulated within the window. Thereafter, the processor 210
of the electronic device 200 may perform operation 1620.
[0202] FIGS. 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D and 17E are diagrams illustrating a
movement of a window according to various embodiments.
[0203] Referring to FIG. 17, a window 1710 may be set as given
duration (e.g., 7 seconds) for an LoS determination. FIGS. 17A and
17B illustrate that first radio signals continue to be received
from an external device, but the window is not moved because the
given duration set as the window does not elapse. First radio
signals (e.g., 1721, 1722, 1723 and 1724) may be randomly received,
and the interval between received durations may not be regular.
FIG. 17C illustrates a point of time at which the given duration
set as the window elapses. The processor 210 of the electronic
device 200 may determine whether the number of first radio signals
determines to be valid signals within a window is greater than a
given number. If it is determined that the number of first radio
signals determined to be valid signals within the window is greater
than the given number, the processor 210 may determine the state of
a communication channel based on accumulated valid signals within
the window. FIG. 17D illustrates a movement of the window. The
window may move in the time axis at a preset speed. For example,
the processor 210 of the electronic device 200 may increase a
window by adding a given time based on the present time, and may
maintain given duration by removing a window corresponding to the
given time from the start time of the window, and may move the
window. The first radio signal 1721 that has been removed as the
window moves is not used to express the statistical characteristics
of a channel. Instead, a first radio signal 1726 that has been
newly added may be accumulated in the window and used to express
the statistical characteristics of a channel. FIG. 17E illustrates
that the window may continue to move in the time axis at a preset
speed. As the window moves, a first radio signal 1727 is
accumulated in the window and may be used to express the
statistical characteristics of a channel. In accordance with an
example embodiment, the moving speed and given duration of a window
may vary in proportion to the number of received first radio
signals. For example, as the number of received first radio signals
increases, given duration may be decreased or moving speed may be
increased.
[0204] FIGS. 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D are diagrams illustrating user
interfaces according to various embodiments.
[0205] FIG. 18A illustrating a user interface that may be used to
notify a user that LoS/NLoS confirmation service has been
triggered. In accordance with various embodiments, the LoS/NLoS
confirmation service may be triggered in response to a user's
command or the occurrence of a given event. The electronic device
1800 (e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1 or the electronic
device 200 of FIG. 2) may display a notice 1810 on a display device
1801 (e.g., the display device 160 of FIG. 1). Furthermore, an
indicator 1811 may indicate that the electronic device 1800 has now
been connected to an external device through the first
communication circuit 221.
[0206] FIG. 18B illustrates a user interface that may be used to
notify the user that the LoS/NLoS confirmation service has been
triggered and the electronic device 1800 has been connected to the
external device through a second communication circuit (e.g., the
second communication circuit 222) by activating the second
communication circuit using the display device 1801. In accordance
with various embodiments, the electronic device 1800 may determine
the state of a communication channel with the external device based
on a first radio signal, and may activate the second communication
circuit based on at least part of the determined state. When the
second communication circuit is activated and connected to the
external device, the electronic device 1800 may display a notice
1820 on the display device 1801. Furthermore, the electronic device
1800 may display that it has now been connected to the external
device through the second communication circuit using an indicator
1821.
[0207] FIG. 18C illustrates a user interface that may be used to
notify a user that the LoS/NLoS confirmation service has been
triggered and an attempt to connect the electronic device 1800 to
the external device through the second communication circuit by
activating the second communication circuit has been made, but
failed using the display device 1801. The electronic device 1800
may fail in the connection with the external device although the
second communication circuit has been activated. The electronic
device 1800 may display a notice 1830 on the display device 1801.
Furthermore, the electronic device 1800 may display that it has now
been connected to the external device through the first
communication circuit using an indicator 1831.
[0208] FIG. 18D illustrates a user interface that may be used to
notify a user that the external device has been connected to the
external device through the second communication circuit by
activating the second communication circuit, but the second
communication circuit has been deactivated based on a connection
state. Although the electronic device 1800 has determined to be in
an LoS environment along with an external device and, an
environment may continue to change (e.g., a movement of the
electronic device 1800) over time. Accordingly, the electronic
device 1800 may determine the connection state of a second radio
signal. The electronic device 1800 may determine whether to
deactivate the second communication circuit and to activate the
first communication circuit based on a result of the connection
state of the second radio signal. The electronic device 1800 may
display a notice 1840 on the display device 1801. Furthermore, the
electronic device 1800 may display that it has now been connected
to the external device through the first communication circuit
using an indicator 1841. For another example, the electronic device
1800 may determine whether it is in the LoS along with the external
device using a first radio signal, and may display a notice
indicating that the second communication circuit can be activated
or an indicator providing notification that the external device is
in the LoS along with the external device on the display device
1801.
[0209] The electronic device supporting multi-band wireless
communication according to various embodiments of the present
disclosure can prevent and/or reduce unnecessary power consumption
and improve reliability of communication because it activates the
directional wireless communication method when sufficient received
signal strength indication (RSSI) and an LoS environment are
guaranteed.
[0210] Various embodiments of the present disclosure can reduce a
propagation path loss when wireless communication is provided in a
mmWave band because the directional wireless communication method
is activated depending on whether an LoS environment is
guaranteed.
[0211] The electronic device according to various embodiments may
be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic
devices may include, for example, and without limitation, a
portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), a computer
device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a
camera, a wearable device, a home appliance, or the like. According
to an example embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic devices
are not limited to those described above.
[0212] It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the
present disclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to
limit the technological features set forth herein to particular
embodiments and include various changes, equivalents, or
replacements for a corresponding embodiment. With regard to the
description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used
to refer to similar or related elements. It is to be understood
that a singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include
one or more of the things, unless the relevant context clearly
indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as "A or
B," "at least one of A and B," "at least one of A or B," "A, B, or
C," "at least one of A, B, and C," and "at least one of A, B, or
C," may include any one of, or all possible combinations of the
items enumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As
used herein, such terms as "1st" and "2nd," or "first" and "second"
may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from
another, and does not limit the components in other aspect (e.g.,
importance or order). It is to be understood that if an element
(e.g., a first element) is referred to, with or without the term
"operatively" or "communicatively", as "coupled with," "coupled
to," "connected with," or "connected to" another element (e.g., a
second element), it may mean that the element may be coupled with
the other element directly (e.g., via wire), wirelessly, or via a
third element.
[0213] As used herein, the term "module" may include a unit
implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combinations
thereof, and may interchangeably be used with other terms, for
example, "logic," "logic block," "part," or "circuitry". A module
may be a single integral component, or a minimum unit or part
thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. For example,
according to an example embodiment, the module may be implemented
in a form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
[0214] Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented
as software (e.g., the program 140) including one or more
instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal
memory 136 or external memory 138) that is readable by a machine
(e.g., the electronic device 101). For example, a processor (e.g.,
the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101)
may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in
the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or
more other components under the control of the processor. This
allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function
according to the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more
instructions may include a code generated by a complier or a code
executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium
may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium.
Wherein, the term "non-transitory" simply means that the storage
medium is a tangible device.
[0215] According to an embodiment, a method according to various
embodiments of the disclosure may be included and provided in a
computer program product. The computer program product may be
traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer
program product may be distributed in the form of a
machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only
memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded)
online via an application store (e.g., PlayStore.TM.), or between
two user devices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed
online, at least part of the computer program product may be
temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in the
machine-readable storage medium, such as memory of the
manufacturer's server, a server of the application store, or a
relay server.
[0216] According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a
module or a program) of the above-described components may include
a single entity or multiple entities. According to various
embodiments, one or more of the above-described components may be
omitted, or one or more other components may be added.
Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g.,
modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In
such a case, according to various embodiments, the integrated
component may still perform one or more functions of each of the
plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they are
performed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components
before the integration. According to various embodiments,
operations performed by the module, the program, or another
component may be carried out sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly,
or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed
in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations
may be added.
[0217] While various example embodiments have been described and
illustrated in the present disclosure, it will be understood that
various modifications, variations and alternatives of the example
embodiments fall within the scope of the present disclosure. It
will be further understood that the various example embodiments are
intended to be illustrative, and not limiting.
* * * * *